LSU baseball kicked off the weekend against its notorious rivals in dominant fashion. The Tigers took down the Alabama Crimson Tide 8-6.
Paul Skenes, deemed the Friday night guy early in the season, was once again the first of the weekend to take the rubber. Skenes threw together a strong outing. He went for six innings and allowed one run on five hits. The Air Force transfer had one error and one wild pitch, but he struck out nine and walked none in the 24 batters that he faced. Of the 109 pitches that Skenes threw, 71 of them were strikes.
Griffin Herring, a freshman left-handed pitcher, relieved Skenes on the mound. Herring pitched for 2.2 innings and allowed four runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out five in the 16 batters that he faced.
Junior Bryce Collins was chosen to close out the game. Collins went just 0.1 innings and allowed one hit. He struck out one but faced only two batters.
“A lot of bulldog,” Skenes said in regard to Collins shutting down the game. “I mean, he’s the guy that we want in those situations, and he came in and executed. We had faith in him, and he did it. It was fun to watch.”
LSU’s dominance in this game came from its ability to capitalize on runners. At the plate, the Tigers totaled eight hits while the Tide totaled 12. To kick things off offensively for LSU, fans watched their beloved North Carolina State transfer, Tommy White, back in action as he hit his 14th home run of the season.
Center fielder Dylan Crews also contributed to the scoreboard for LSU. He had a home run in the bottom of the third inning. The three-run bomb put the Tigers up four runs.
After the game, Crews was asked if he thought that his hit was going to fly past the outfield wall.
“Not really,” he said. “You know, it was just, I mean, I didn’t. I saw it kept going, but I think it got some wind up there. So, you know, I was thankful for it to get out though. It crept out, so it was good.”
Alabama managed to round in a run in the top of the fourth inning. The Tide’s three-hole, Andrew Pinckney, sent over a solo home run to the Diamond Deck, where LSU fans were hoping it would drop. This was the only run that Alabama collected until the top of the eighth inning.
The Tide’s biggest hardship was not just overcoming LSU’s bullpen but overcoming their own. Alabama’s starter, Hagan Banks, allowed four runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out three. Banks threw 52 pitches.
Freshman Kade Woods was called in from Alabama’s bullpen for relief. He proved to be no match for the heated Tiger bats, allowing three runs on three hits. Woods pitched for just over two innings.
Aidan Moza was unable to change this pitching narrative. He was Alabama’s third on the mound, pitching for only 0.1 innings. He walked in three runs for LSU. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Tigers had now collected seven runs.
LSU scored again in the bottom of the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly sent up by catcher Alex Millazo. This was the last run of the game for the Tigers.
For a bit, a rally seemed to be on the rise for Alabama, even in the top of the ninth inning. In the eighth inning, the Tide squeezed in a run with a single through the left side. The RBI did little damage on the scoreboard but seemed to have a huge effect on the Alabama dugout.
The Tide’s momentum shifted, and the bats were a bit more heated the next time they took the plate. Against Herring, with only one more out needed, Alabama collected three more runs. Finally with Collins, the game came to a close. Though it was a valiant effort, Alabama was still defeated.
The Tigers are on the hunt for their second series sweep of the season. They look to continue that mission in game two of the weekend against the Crimson Tide. The first pitch is set to take place on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
